CONTACT: Eric Durr, 518-429-5186 (cell) 518-786-4581 (Office)

FOR RELEASE: Wednesday, May 16, 2012

ON SITE: Eric Durr, 518-429-5186 (cell) 518-786-4581 (Office)

CORTLAND MANOR , NY (05/14/2012)--The New York National Guard’s Camp Smith Training Site will play host to the top enlisted Army National Guard Soldiers and Non-Commissioned Officers (sergeants) from the eight Northeastern States May 15-18. Members of the media are invited to visit Camp Smith on Wednesday May 16 to cover some of the most exciting parts of the competition. WHO: Sixteen Soldiers from Maine, Massachusetts, Vermont, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, New York and New Jersey. WHAT: A competition testing the Soldiers physical fitness, military knowledge, endurance, marksmanship, and land navigation skills. Each state sends Soldiers who did well at their statewide competition. Soldiers who win at the regional event will go on to compete against other Army Guard Soldiers to decide who will compete against representatives of the Active Army and the United States Army Reserve. Senior Non-Commissioned Officers from the Northeast States conduct the competition. Media is invited to cover the ":Stress Shoot" a task which tests the Soldiers ability to engage targets accurately with an M-4 carbine while performing simulated battle tasks. WHEN: Media opportunity at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 16 WHERE: Camp Smith Training Site on Routes 6 and 20 in Cortlandt Manor, just north of Peekskill. For access to this secure military facility members of the media must contact Mr. Eric Durr at 518-429-5186 and have a press pass on their person to present at the gate. Visual and Coverage Opportunities: Visual imagery opportunities include Soldier firing weapons and moving on the Camp Smith ranges. Interviews with leaders and competition participants can be coordinated. BACKGROUND: Northeast Region Best Warrior Competition: During the competition eight junior enlisted Soldiers--Soldiers in grades E-1 to E-4 ( Private, Private 1st Class, and Specialist)- will compete against each other for the Best Soldier title, while eight Non- Commissioned Officers in grades E-5 to E-7 (Sergeant, Staff Sergeant, and Sgt. 1st Class) to be the Best Non-Commissioned Officer. Senior Non-Commissioned officers from the eight northeastern states will run the competition. The winners at Camp Smith will go on to compete against National Guard Soldiers from around the country. The winners of that Army National Guard competition, in turn, will face off against their counterparts from the Active Army and the U.S. Army Reserve. The competition tests the Soldiers knowledge in the areas of military justice, field sanitation, security and intelligence operations, military courtesy, leadership, counseling and how to deal with chemical and biological weapons. The participates negotiate land navigation courses by day and by night, and take an Army Physical Fitness Test to determine who gets the top score. Participants are quizzed by a board of senior sergeants who evaluate them on their ability to handle stress and military appearance, as well. They are graded in their ability to handle hands-on military tasks, as well as their marksmanship ability with the M-4. The contestants must qualify with their weapon and also score well during the "Stress Shoot" event which tests their ability to engage man-sized targets while maneuvering, and pulling a simulated casualty. Soldiers also participate in a10 kilometer road march around the Camp Smith site on Wednesday afternoon . The Soldiers will also have the opportunity to tour the United States Military Academy, which is just up the Hudson River from Camp Smith, and to have lunch in one of the Academy Dining Facilities. In 2011 New York Army National Guard Soldier Sergeant Shawn Chapple finished first in the Non-Commissioned Officer competition and represented the Northeast at the National Guard competition at Fort Benning, Georgia. This year Spec. Brian Lekhmus, a student a Dutchess County Community College and a Salt Point, N.Y. resident and Sgt. David Martinsen, a Troy resident, and full-time National Guard member, will represent the New York Army National Guard in the regional competition. Camp Smith Training Site: Camp Smith is the largest of three training locations owned by the state of New York and operated by the New York State Division of Military and Naval Affairs for the New York National Guard. The 1,613 acre facility includes 126 acres of main that includes 50 buildings, along with 229 acres of range and 1,256 acres of wooded training area. The site was first used by New York to train state militia in 1888. Camp Smith has been in continual use since then. Soldiers can train on M-4 carbines, M-16 rifles, M-240B machineguns, and M-9 pistols, and the M-14 sniper rifle at the existing ranges, and conduct infantry tactical training on the wooded hillsides. Along with units of the New York Army National Guard, Army Reserve, local, state and federal law enforcement agencies, and the Corps of Cadets at the United States Military Academy at West Point, use the training facilities. Camp Smith is also home to the headquarters of the all-volunteer New York Guard and houses patrol boats used by the New York Naval Militia. Follow The New York National Guard on Facebook, Twitter and Youtube: FaceBook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/New-York-Army-National-Guard/112535293973?ref=search&sid=100000443776901.3155842963..1 Twitter: http://twitter.com/NationalGuardNY YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/nynationalguard